The Research Training/Education Core, which includes Morehouse School of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, and University of Florida, is designed as a collaborative effort between these institutions to enhance the education of those involved in the care of patients with SCO. The basis for this commitment is the belief that such training will significantly enhance health care for a chronic disease that affects many families residing in communities that are all too often already challenged with health care disparities. This program will demonstrate that ongoing well-structured education will not only help patients that are not currently receiving comprehensive care, but that such care will also help those that are already receiving tertiary care. All too often, modern health care technology and knowledge, even if basic, bypasses many affected individuals as well as providers who either do not have the resources or opportunities to be properly informed. It is the conviction of participants of this Center of Excellence that such information and care can be brought to most healthcare providers and thus improve the care of most patients affected with SCO and their families. Program implementation and progress will be monitored with specific outcome indicators. Education efforts will be focused on providers most likely to have the greatest impact on the care of patients with SCO in the future: primary care physicians. Also novel entities in the health care arena, such as disease management providers, will be engaged. The target of this Research Training/Education Core will be family medicine practitioners and residents, medicine residents, hematology fellows, medical students, and post-doctoral, and graduate students.